Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Do you like fried fish? Yes, it's an inane post, but what the heck..?

Do you like fried fish? I LOVE IT but I don't often make it. And, at my ripe old age, I FINALLY (though I'm a pretty darned good cook) fried THE perfect fried fish tonight. Catfish. Just a tad crispy on the outside, thick beautiful white meat on the inside....salt, lemon...SO GOOD~!
NOW I need your help.......I had two filets..........Mr. Z had two filets. ONE is left and Mr. Z doesn't want it. Tell me why I shouldn't eat it, okay? "deliver me from temptation" why don't you!?
AND, whoever gives me the best reason for NOT eating that last piece is who gets the leek recipe side dish I invented tonight. How's that?
z

35 comments:

sue said...

Don't eat the last fillet just because it's there. If you want it - eat it, but just don't eat it BECAUSE IT'S THERE.

(I'm sure this won't be the winner, but I am a believer that you can get in trouble by eating something just because it's left.)

Let me tell you a little story.

When my girls were little, I used to eat leftovers from their plates. One evening Amanda said: 'Look Mommy, there's some food left on Daddy's plate.'

That was the end of that habit.

Papa Frank said...

There simply is no legitimate reason to not eat that piece of fish. Eat it!!! Enjoy!!!

Z said...

Sue! I was JUST going to delete the WHOLE POST because I thought it probably is silly and saw a comment was there ..thanks! This was worth the whole thing...what a great story! HA!! I see what you mean!!

I used to have a British business partner and we worked at his home...his wife frequently had me stay for dinner (I was still single and we were great friends)...Poor Lee would eat just till he's full (WHO DOES THAT?!!) and she and I'd actually eat a bit from his plate once he'd leaned back and lit the telling "I'm through eating" cigarette!....I can't imagine doing it now, but we did have a laugh!

Z said...

POPS! ARGH! It's refrig cold now...it'll NEVER be the same, you know? I told Mr Z "let's get more next week!" Mmmmm

I thought you'd love catfish!!

sue said...

z - I see I put one too many 'l's
in filet.

My husband can stop eating when he's had enough. I am always amazed when he does that. I never know when I've reached that point, unless I'm REALLY full.

I have to admit I used to smoke. And if smoking has any benefits it's that you can push the plate away and light up like your friend.

BTW, I love fried fish.

Papa Frank said...

I DO like catfish. But I would prefer Walleye or Crappie myself.

Anonymous said...

Z
If you want someone to convince you to throw the last piece of fish away because you're not hungry, do not consult my dad. He'd sooner eat condiments straight than throw them away. (Maybe a slight exaggeration...I guess it depends on your definition of condiments.)

tio b

Z said...

tio...not 'throw away'...I was trying to save it for Thursday!

Sue...I didn't ever smoke a lot, but i loved a cigarette, too, I have to admit. It was the one thing that made it worthwhile to step away from more food. I always say "With Armenians, it's not ARE YOU HUNGRY?, it's HOW HUNGRY ARE YOU!?"

Pops, that'll be the day I can ever eat anything called CRAPPIE!!!

Anonymous said...

Three fillets will give you gas.

Did I win?

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Everything that tastes good tastes better fried, even Twinkies.

That said, re-heating fried food and having it taste the same is pretty hit and miss. You may be better off slicing the filet into small chunks before reheating them in the microwave in short bursts, and putting them on a salad with a vinegrette and cheese.

If I win the leek recipe I bequeath it to the world :)

Radio Man said...

Of course you should eat the fish. If it feels good, do it! But before doing so, please consider...

QUESTION: What do liberals and catfish both have in common?

(drum roll please)

ANSWER: They are both bottom feeders.

So I might suggest a better freshwater species: Walleye.

Or if you prefer a saltwater fish you can't go wrong with Cod.

Radio Man
Ph.D, Culinary Fishology

Z said...

I'll wait till tomorrow morning and see who wins the leek recipe.
Then, of course, everybody will have it anyway, but I coudn't think of another prize!

Mustang..PULEEAZE!! :-)

Beamish, that's the problem; fried things don't taste good reheated.......and, you're right..I never met a fried thing or a potato I didn't like.
Great idea of putting the slices of fish in a salad....

the leek recipe was REAL good and made Mr Z, the leek lover, real happy.
come to think of it, you could say 'the fish was REEL good', eh? Oh, sorry.!!

Z said...

Hi, RADIO MAN!! GOOD to see you here tonight...
Excellent point about bottom feeders...I'm surprised beamish didn't think of that, too!

Catfish went through a funny period; or at least the purveyors in LA of catfish did...I used to love it, then it got a kind of 'dirty' flavor and I hadn't bought it for a while..? Anyway, I'm GLAD IT'S BACK!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Z,

If you have a shot glass, fill it with water and put it in the microwave with the fish when you reheat it. Steam heating it will help it retain much of the flavor.

;)

Z said...

thanks, beamish...I kind of like it cold. the flour on the outside was so thin there's hardly a 'batter' so it'll be good cold with lemon.
but, thanks for the tip, hadn't heard that one before.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

You like it cold? Does this mean...

..you ate it?

hehehehe

Z said...

noooo......not tonight!
That was the rub...eat it hot tonight and be sorry tomorrow because it's gone, but happy tonight?
Oh, never mind; I've shared enough Z weirdisms! Thanks for playing along, guys! heh

see you all tomorrow...

Anonymous said...

I'm not a fish lover, but Mr. Pris and I love to fish. So like good responsible fishermen, we eat what we catch and keep.

We like trout, fried in butter. For me, catfish is a little too fishy.

For saltwater fish, barracuda is fun to catch and rather tasty too. Not too fishy.

Halibut is a bottom fish, very good to eat, but not much fun to catch, you just sort of haul it up.

Waddaya think, Radio Man, Mr. Culinary Fishology? Do I pass the test? Ha, Ha.

Funny, I thought liberals swam with the sharks.

Pris

christian soldier said...

Radio Man---Walleye-PLEEEASE tell me where you can get fresh walleye in CA!
My memories of fishing for walleye on the Great Lakes are fond-and the fish - lightly sauteed --HMMMMMM
C-CS

Deborah on the Bayside said...

I can't believe I'm reading this, much less responding.

Save it and flake it into a salad for lunch tomorrow. That's how I'm spending my week inching my way through a delicious salmon filet I cooked Monday.

cube said...

OK, I wont lie to you... I would really love the leeks recipe. That being said, I say save the remaining fillets for lunch the next day. That's what I do with any fish left over from dinner, whether its fried or grilled.

Anonymous said...

Z, it's pretty late, but if you haven't eaten it by now, why bother?

If you have, no argument dissuading you would have been good enough anyway.

Mustang - Too funny!

Pris

shoprat said...

When I was a kid I refused to eat fish. Reason? My aunt who was only a couple of years older than me, when I was about 5, told me a fish bone could get caught in my throat and I would die. Maybe that's a good reason not to eat it.

I do eat fish now, but prefer it baked to fried.

Anonymous said...

Z, still trying to convince yourself not to eat the fish? Try watching Airplane!

tio b

Z said...

shoprat, Mr Z didn't eat fish for years for that reason, too. Now he does~
Pris...this catfish was divine!
Deb...can't be ALL politics/culture ALL the time...

Here's my leek recipe for two:

four large leeks, trimmed (cut below large leaves), cleaned very well, and chopped about half an inch wide.

Saute half a chopped onion in about 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium flames...
Add leeks
Add two large tomatoes, large dice
Stir this all up and start the cooking process, then add about a large Tablespoon of small capers with a little of their juice...to taste.
Then sprinkle about 3-5 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar depending on how much you like that, a little salt and cracked pepper.
Cover, heat over lowish heat for about 30 minutes, till the leeks are fork tender.
This was great hot but cold leeks like this would be super, too.

Bon Appetit

Z said...

re; the recipe;

Obviously, there are variations and you'll want to make this your recipe by adding your favorite herbs, etc., but for real leek lovers, you know that flavor can take a back seat to anything real strong (I even hesitated to put in the onion first)...so, if you love leeks like we do, don't add too much more!
(and do 3 T of vinegar at first, later, if you decide to add more after tasting, go ahead)

Ducky's here said...

Generally it's not a great way to cook good fresh fish.

Fried catfish on the other hand ... try Bubba's in Huntsville. Go for the business lunch.

Z said...

Ducky, fish is very healthy and delicious sauteed in 1/8" of oil...trust me.
It wasn't deep fried, which I also ADORE and never do.

Matter of fact, I was horrified on a boat once when we'd caught a lot of halibut and our hosts deep fried it WITH hush puppies......it was delicious because i love anything fried but what a waste of really REALLY fresh fish.

Forget Bubba's (although I can't image bad food at anywhere called BUBBA's)....Brophy Brothers in Santa Barbara, on the water. It can't be beat.

elmers brother said...

if you eat that fish it will go right to those lovely hips of yours....

Z said...

Elbro..having it for LUNCH today!
Hips or NO hips! (and thanks xx!!!)

Anonymous said...

Ok, I will give you a reason to not eat catfish at all.

Now, this is an old wives' tale from people in the deep south, Z.

Women should not eat catfish because it will give them whiskers.

( I did not invent this story.)

As for me, never cared for fried cat fish, but do like hushpuppies, which are made from cornmeal, and contain minced onion and fried in the same fat as the fish.

Down south, lots of people go to these places called fish camps, to indulge in all sorts of fried fish, potatoes, hush puppies, okra and so on.

WVDOTTR

Z said...

You know, there isn't ANYTHING I don't like fried, WV, but I have to say I call sautee'd fish FRIED, I guess...it was barely in batter and barely in the canola Oil/butter.......and very little flour..just crisped it up. It was heavenly and the piece today, cold, was marvelous, too.

I think hush puppies are like sinkers..heavy and just okay......
I love lightly fried okra, however! LOVE okra!!
Mom used to steep it with tomatoes and lemon juice..heavenly, but I like 'em fried, too.

David Wyatt said...

Believe it or not, once at a Baptist Men's meeting at church, the men had deep fried some catfish, & along with it, some sweet potatoes in batter! Whoa!! That was in 1988 & I can still taste it! Tremendous!

MathewK said...

Big fan of fish and chips too Z. Can't give you any reason for not having the last piece. But then i ain't a big fan of leek. :)

Z said...

MK, you're one of my favorites..do you know that? True. that leeks line made me smile.
David, you are, too.....what a blessing you two are here.

David, battered sweet potato? YUMMO!!!